Fire Beats Ice
by RayneSummer
Summary: Toothless saved Hiccup from the ice that day, just as he had saved him from fire all those years ago. Their soulmate bond is one that cannot be broken for long, and as long as his dragon is by the Viking's side, they can face anything.


**Missing scene for when Hiccup and Toothless were incased in ice near the end of How to Train Your Dragon too. The only thing that beats Ice is Fire... and here's how.**

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Hiccup had been close to death before, quite a few times now – and he was only 20. Having lived in a Viking village where it was kill or be killed, as Valka had put it. And with his clumsiness, he was always getting into dangerous situations. That was even before flying high in the air was part of his regular activities, which held the constant threat of falling, as had happened a few times before.

He had been scared before, too. Dragons had never really scared him, even while everyone else was killing them and they were attacking him at the lessons with Gobber and the other teen Vikings. But he really had been terrified when the Night Fury he shot down then released jumped at him. Hiccup had been sure he was facing the end there, staring into the infinity of the black dragon's eyes.

But the dragon had spared Hiccup's life, as the Viking had spared his own, and had flown off. Despite their first, intense, meeting, Hiccup went after his dragon again, not paying attention to fear. The dragons could have killed him, and didn't. What did that mean, other than clearly not every time they went for the kill?

And so it had been that the rest of the events began to unfold. Soon, the bond of Hiccup and Toothless had been strong enough to trust each other completely. But it could not last. They were forcefully separated, after Toothless fought against everything that stood in his way to protect Hiccup from the Monstrous Nightmare. And so Hiccup went after his dragon, fighting against everything Vikings stood for to free Toothless.

Together, they defeated the Red Death. And it was at the end of that battle that Hiccup actually felt fear. Unable to steer without the other half of his tail, Toothless could not prevent them from smacking into the bit dragon's own. Hiccup was immediately knocked unconscious at the impact, and could remember little about how he survived. But he knew that, seeing the unavoidable obstacle in front of them, he was scared. For both of them.

Of course, Toothless had saved his rider. Wrapping him completely in his fireproof wings, the Viking had been safe against whatever the explosion could throw at them. Unfortunately Hiccup remained with a scar of that save; but he didn't let his prosthetic get in the way of anything, taking the lead from his dragon.

They fought and flew and had fun together for years after that, and with Toothless, Hiccup wasn't afraid of anything the world could put in their way. He made himself a flight suit so he could glide beside his dragon, and when most of these attempts went wrong, the Night Fury always saved his rider, in the same way he had in the Red Death explosion.

Hiccup often came across life-threatening moments. Some had even almost finished him off. But it wasn't often he actually feared for his life, and thought about final goodbyes. With Toothless by his side, he didn't even think of bidding farewell to his dragon in those moments of great peril.

But, after they managed to kick Drago off the alpha, and landed, and Hiccup had been so sure "it's all over now"... it was then that the worst happened. Hiccup had tried, fruitlessly, to run from the ice dragon's fatal breath, but it had incased him mercilessly, and Toothless who had jumped in front of his rider couldn't even save Hiccup this time.

It was in the dome of ice, with limited and disappearing air, that Hiccup felt pure fear, electrifying through him, terrifying him to such an extent that even if there was air available to breathe, he wouldn't of been able to. He knew it was over. For him, at least. That's what he thought. And those 30 seconds was the longest of his life.

There wasn't enough room to stand; he had fallen or been pushed down by Toothless, who had managed to jump in front in a futile attempt to save his rider. There was ice all around, coldness, and an eerie silence. They could hear nothing. There was nothing. If it hadn't been for his dragon's solid presence next to him, Hiccup would have thought he was already dead.

He couldn't breathe, and the limited air that had been trapped in there with them was almost gone. Hiccup's eyes began to close as his shallow breaths got fainter. Toothless was scared, too. The dragon tried licking his master, as if he could keep him alive, but Hiccup couldn't hold on. Through half closed eyes in tiredness, he watched Toothless' expression. The magnificent Night Fury's eyes were wide in fear and terror that he was seeing his master fade away in front of him, and there was nothing he could do.

In that moment, Hiccup knew he didn't mind dying right next to his best friend. He had got Toothless back, and that was what mattered. His dragon belonged to him, and was faithfully loyal to his rider. "Hey, bud, I just... want you to know... you are my best friend," Hiccup managed to say through airless pants, as his mind drifted and his eyes closed. "And you mean the world to me," he murmured, words and breath fading.

Desperately, Toothless closed his eyes too, but not to die. He harnessed every ounce of rage and anger towards the Bewilderbeast and Drago, for trying too many times to take his master away from him. And Toothless would not let them defeat him. So, in the silence of the ice, the Night Fury used all his fury and love to his soulmate, and snarled as a bright blue light filled the space...

And they broke free. Toothless had his body wrapped around his rider's, and nudged Hiccup with his nose, hoping desperately he wasn't too late. The relief the dragon felt when his rider moved and realised he could breathe again, coughing little as he opened his eyes and stared in wonder at his saviour. It was enough to fuel what was left of Toothless' strength to uncurl from his master and roar with all his rage at the alpha dragon that had tried to kill them again, and had failed, again.

Looking back at his rider, who was panting in the clean air, still alive and fighting, Hiccup nodded, allowing Toothless to jump towards the bigger dragon, growling for all he was worth. Backing away on hands and knees, Hiccup got to his feet and briefly greeted his mother, as they watched Toothless fire repeatedly at the Alpha dragon. "He's challenging the Alpha!"

"To protect you!" Valka said with reverence. Toothless jumped back toward his rider, his master, his soulmate, and roared in fury like his name at the Bewilderbeast. They would not take his best friend away. Never again. Mounting his dragon, Hiccup flew Toothless to the edge of the ice where they had been incased, and faced Drago himself, saying the one thing in the world he was sure of; his very best friend, his dragon, his faithful, loyal, companion who would stand beside him and help him fight forever.

"Now you get it? _This_ is what it is... to earn a dragon's loyalty."


End file.
